Monday, October 4, 2010

Early October- it's chilly out there

Well, last night did it. The galeux d'eysines, long bent on world domination, have met their match:

Jack Frost did them in.

Even the eggplant, which were covered, got nipped a bit last night.

We didn't have any wind last night and it frosted much harder than the night before. Amazingly, most of the tomato plants look pretty good. However, I think they're not long for this world since I think cleaning out the garden is on the agenda for the days I have off this week. I'm glad I harvested the pumpkins when I did. Even though some look barely ready, they're starting to get warts on them so I assumed they were ready enough. Time will tell.

Here's the remaining crew. See the pale ones.

Poor things, ripped from the vine so young,

It's time for my usual Monday update on "things". I love the Independence Days Challenge, it helps me keep on track and organize what I've done so I can see my accomplishments week by week toward the goal of being more self sufficient. Not that I have any delusions that we will ever be able to be totally self sufficient, but it's a start.

1. Plant something- only day lilies and iris. I'm STILL waiting on my kiwi plants to arrive.

3. Preserve something- froze 3 quarts of diced hot peppers and froze some baba ganoush, that's about it. I've got plans for some pear chutney but the pears need to ripen a bit more for that.

4. Waste not- hmm, not much different here. V has been hard at work in the basement. All the old 2x4s we salvaged are gone. Sheetrock is going up. Behold:

The new, improved well room is done.

or as V calls it- The Room of Wellness!

The door is salvaged from our old house- actually, we discovered it abandoned up in the rafters of the garage when we moved in there 16 years ago and decided it was useful, so we hung onto it. The well room houses the pressure tank and also has room for some storage. We thought about moving the water softener in there but that was more plumbing than we wanted to do, so it will stay in it's closet off to the right.

5. Want not- I can't think of too much. We got a couple jars of jam from my Mom (a spiced peach and a plum). I haven't done too much stocking up on anything I can think of (except for a couple cans of Campbell's soup for child "emergency" meals). I guess I could count seed saving in this category as well. I've got eggplant, cucumber, galeux d'eysines, paprika and anaheim seeds drying at the moment.

6. Build community- the children got gourds from Kathy's on Saturday and I let J16 pick out a bar of goat milk soap they had there, also made by a local artisan. I gave jars of pumpkin butter to my parents and sister when we were down.

7. Eat the food- stuffed peppers last night. And today for lunch I had baba ganoush and tomato slices on a whole wheat pita. I need to figure out how to make my own pita- I've heard it isn't hard. Maybe something else to add onto my list for the weekend. I was also reminded that October is Vegetarian Awareness Month so we will be trying to eat more veggie meals than we already do. We average at least one veg dinner a week, so this month we'll be trying for two or more. And J16 has requested pumpkin soup for Friday. She will be on soft foods for a bit and doesn't want anything with "chunks" that may cause problems so she thought a creamy, pureed soup would be good. It does sound pretty tasty!

I hope you all have a grand and glorious week. The weather here is looking up. No frost advisory for tonight and the rest of the week looks beautiful. I'm glad I've got a few days off coming up.

Erin- yeah, they went out with style! Don't worry about the girl- we'll have ice cream, yogurt and all her favorites. But a Frosty does sound good.Debbie- The frost is a few weeks ahead of schedule here. But now it's warming back up to more normal temps. I just keep having to remind myself that it is October- it's supposed to get colder.Judy

Thank for the awesome update. I am wondering where you ordered you kiwi from? Did you order both male and female. I am wanting to do two arbors , one male, one female. Also , please share you recipe for pumpkin soup. Tis the season for all.. Sounds so intriguing I would love to try it. Pick all your green tomatoes they will ripen off the vine , so you don't loose them to frost. We live in the way south so we are is gardening full swing. Have a great week!Melissa

Mo- I do think Autumn is my favorite season. Even though it is sad to see things die, it means a clean slate for next year. That, and I LOVE crunching in leaves!Melissa- I ordered my kiwi from Gurney's. I did order both a male and female and, if they ever arrive, they will go by the pergola we built over our new deck.I'll probably save a few green tomatoes but honestly, there aren't that many left out there. I'll try to remember to post about pumpkin soup. I don't usually use a recipe for soups. I'm notorious for throwing in whatever is on hand so it changes from time to time.Judy

I always thought there must be some "secret mojo required to make good pitas. Not so. Easy peasy. I use a bread maker to do the bull work but you don't have to. Here are two of my favorite recipes:

Grey's Perfect Pocket Pita

Ingredients:

1 1/8 cup WARM water

1 tsp salt

1 tbs oil

1 1/2 tsp sugar

3 cups of flour

1 1/2 tsp yeast

Into the bread maker it goes, and select the dough only cycle. When you get beeped,

Roll/pull the dough into a 12 inch rope.

Cut into 8 equal sections. ( or if your good make 8 same sized balls of dough)

Roll each section into balls and then use a roller to lay them out as flat as you can. Each should make a disk/circle of dough 7-8 inches in diameter. This step is important . It you don't get them flat enough you ended up with no pockets at all.)

Cover and let raise or rest for 1/2 hour. Pre-heat oven to 500o F.

Lay the disks on the oven's center rack. Yes you can place them directly on the rack or use a bakers stone After 5 minutes, keep an eye on them. in 5-7 minutes they'll puff up like little footballs. Continue watching as they can burn easily. Full cooking time is anywhere from 7 to 10 minutes depending on how long you kept the oven door open putting your pitas in.

Once cooled place in freezer bags to keep from drying out. You can easily freeze and thaw these if you aren't able to use them up in a few days.

I always thought there must be some "secret mojo required to make good pitas. Not so. Easy peasy. I use a bread maker to do the bull work but you don't have to. Here are two of my favorite recipes:

Grey's Perfect Pocket Pita

Ingredients:

1 1/8 cup WARM water

1 tsp salt

1 tbs oil

1 1/2 tsp sugar

3 cups of flour

1 1/2 tsp yeast

Into the bread maker it goes, and select the dough only cycle. When you get beeped,

Roll/pull the dough into a 12 inch rope.

Cut into 8 equal sections. ( or if your good make 8 same sized balls of dough)

Roll each section into balls and then use a roller to lay them out as flat as you can. Each should make a disk/circle of dough 7-8 inches in diameter. This step is important . It you don't get them flat enough you ended up with no pockets at all.)

Cover and let raise or rest for 1/2 hour. Pre-heat oven to 500o F.

Lay the disks on the oven's center rack. Yes you can place them directly on the rack or use a bakers stone After 5 minutes, keep an eye on them. in 5-7 minutes they'll puff up like little footballs. Continue watching as they can burn easily. Full cooking time is anywhere from 7 to 10 minutes depending on how long you kept the oven door open putting your pitas in.

Once cooled place in freezer bags to keep from drying out. You can easily freeze and thaw these if you aren't able to use them up in a few days.

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My name is Judy. I'm a working mom of three (two boys still at home and a daughter in college), married to a wonderful guy. I'm trying to find my way in the world. My dream is to become more self reliant and live lighter on the earth.
I grew up on an Iowa farm, where my parents still live. In 2009 we purchased a run down acreage and are struggling to make our dream a reality.
This is our adventure.
And I'm always looking for new adventures along the way.